It's Happening [X, NDE, Hard]

[Pavel Fedoseev]

Quest Name:[/b] [It's Happening]

Who can participate?:[/b] [Zack Jensen, Yoko Kusunagi, TV, Hotaru]

Quest Time Frame (How long it takes):[/b] [Unknown]

Quest Setting (NDE/DE):[/b] [NDE]

Quest Synopsis:[/b] [New Harran, a tropical city named after an ancient city, has gone dark. Radio contact has gone quiet, and the Egyptian military is not letting anyone in or out. It was originally unclear what exactly was going on in that city, until a single message got leaked. Somehow, someone in the city was able to regain access to the internet and submitted a single post on an anonymous image board. His post contained a single picture of the city, buildings wrapped in flames and blood in the streets. His post contained the following message "There has been an outbreak. There are too many of them. I can hear them outside, now. They're trying to get in. Please, someone, anyone, send help." Naturally, the organizations with the fastest and strongest information gathering operations picked this up. Xcution has sent XSG #3 Zack Jensen, Uzaki Enterprises has sent Yoko Kusunagi, Soul Society sent Hotaru Kuchiki, [Insert TVs Character Here].]

[Special Notice] You are incapable of accessing your step techniques and there is no escape. You have to eat, sleep, and drink regularily.These mechanics will be based on trust n the RPer as to whether the RPC will need to eat sleep and consume liquid because every characther is "different" in that sense. But no one should be able to survive weeks without food, sleep or liquid. The search mechanic will work with the RPC declaring that they will search a specific area and possible declare what they are searching for and roll a number from 1-10. If they do not specify what they are looking for, what they find will be up to the DM regardless of catagory. Beings of spiritual origins have the capability to survive longer without food or water or sleep than fullbringers.
Maximum Number of Participants:[/b] [4]

Overall Goal:[/b] [Deal with the Cause]

Number of missions involved:[/b] [6]

BASIC Synopsis of each Quest mission:[/b] [

Break Through The Blockade You arrive at the outskirts of the city. At every possible entrance there is a military blockade. They will not allow you to enter the city. You must find a way to get past this blockade, either through force sneaking, or through negotiations. The Choice is yours.

Investigate The City You have entered the city, investigate it and find what information you can when entering it.

Look For Help Find survivors and look for help.

Find The Source You are aware that there is a source of the zombies. Find it.

Deal With the Source You have found the source. Deal with it by any ways necessary.

Escape The Egyptian Military has been given the authorization to clear the city. They have flodded the city with special units meant to clear the city. Afterwards they will destroy the city by fragging. Escape the military response.

]

Recommended Class for entry:[/b] [5-2]

[Deleted]

Not every night was full of adventure. This night in particular was fairly calm for Uzaki Enterprises Chief of Security. She had meditated for a while, and then opted to watch some TV and browse the net a bit. One post in particular caught her eyes. It was an SOS, claiming that there had been some kind of outbreak in New Harran. It was a decent sized city in Egypt, but not one that was particularly renowned. Wasting no time, Yoko pulled out her phone and called up a contact from her time in the military. If memory served her right, he was still stationed in Egypt, not too far from New Harran. The call didn’t connect. She tried a text next, and got a single reply.

This can’t be real.

That was all the confirmation Yoko needed. It was either a potential international incident of bioterrorism, or something spiritual at work. Given the lack of stability in Egypt the past several years, either one of those was likely to be beyond what the authorities could handle. Sure, Kazura had been telling everyone to focus on Karakura for the time being, but Yoko wasn’t about to sit this one out. If it was a spiritual incident large enough for the military to be involved, things were going to end poorly. Regardless of what the cause actually was, something needed to be done, and that could take quite some time. She was going to need to make sure she was well prepared for this trip.

Yoko grabbed a rucksack and started packing. On speakerphone, she called up Kazura’s travel agent at the same time. [smear:0000ff]”I need the next plane to Egypt. Put it on our account.”[/smear:00ffff:1] After that, a quick text was sent to Kazura. I’m going to Egypt for a while. Try not to get killed while I’m gone. It was her snarky way telling her boss to stay safe. Uzaki Enterprises had been drawing some unwanted attention lately, and her warning was well warranted. Just to be on the safe side, she sent messages to both Marcus and Kitai, instructing them to keep an eye on the boss while she was gone. In this day and age, it didn’t hurt to be too careful.

By the time the Fullbringer had finished packing, she had amassed quite a few supplies. A pair of canteens, along with iodine to purify the water, and two weeks worth of MREs made up the basics. Beyond that, she had her KA-BAR, an omni-cable, a few changes of clothes, a carton of cigarettes, and her phone with a few spare batteries. There were a few other odds and ends in there, but that was the majority of it. The outfit she had opted to wear was a set of desert camo and combat boots. Most of her spares were desert camo as well, but she did have one set of urban camo with her. If the military was already involved, she wanted to be able to blend in.

Once she was all prepped and ready, she headed off to the private airstrip a few miles away. By the time she got there, the plane was already prepped and waiting for her. Aside from the pilots, she was the only person on board. Sometimes, working for a billionaire really pays off. It was a long plane ride, almost 17 hours. She slept through most of it, meditated for another big chunk, and the rest of the time was spent going over possible scenarios in her head. She arrived in Egypt well rested and ready to go. With the magic of her corporate credit card, she arranged for transport as close as the military would let people go. Once she reached the inevitable blockade, her plan was simply to report to the commander on the ground, and offer her services. Of course, she wasn’t going to mention her employer to them at all.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}]
Strength - [400(800)] Points

Speed - [200(300)] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [350(175)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [100(50)] Points

Light Aura - [40] Points

Dark Aura - [60] Points

Instinct - [165] Points

Senses [185] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1400]

• [Martial Art: Kunlun] {3}
  
  
• [Weapon: Sword {3}
  
  
• [Pain Tolerance] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {2}
  
  
• [Calm Mind] {2}
  
  
• [Anti-Stealth] {3}
  
  
• [Weapon:Guns] {1}
  

SPOILER: Click to show

{items}One standard Dagger
25 feet of Omni-Cable and 4 terminators
Other random stuff mentioned above that isn't an official item.

[Deleted]

The plane was silent as it glided through the Egyptian sky. Sleek black in color and high above the cloud line so that nobody would see it if they looked up, the Xcution vessel was one of stealth and precision. Within the cockpit of the vessel sat the two captains, monitoring their progress via monitors and continuing their job. They made sure that the plane had not been detected. This was a stealth mission. If any signs of their involvement with his crisis were found, then there could be trouble. The Egyptian Military could very well shoot down the plane without any sort of repercussions. Stakes were high; the heavily modified Combat Talon continued its course to the quarantined city.

On the inside of the cargo hold were two individuals, one wearing a helmet plus an oxygen mask, and one who did not. The man who had not put on his mask was resting on the bench along the side of the interior. A man with hair as gray as a storm cloud, he sat with his eyes closed and leaned forward. While the other passenger continued doing maintenance the other rested. Sitting there, waiting for the clock to tick down. He was mentally preparing himself. This wasn't going be a normal job. This was going to be something else. Something similar to Africa. Something similar to the Hell's Gate Incident.

The sound of static in his ear caused those eyes to open and his back to straighten. The man raised a hand to the ear piece, pressing the only button the device had. After a few moments, their came her voice. "Good morning, Mr Jensen. I trust you slept well?" Hearing Annabeths voice was always something that caused both peace and stress in the man. Her voice always signaled the beginning and end of a mission. This time though, it was the beginning. "I've rested well enough. I'm ready for the mission report."

Whatever this mission was, Zack knew it was going to be big. Annabeth was silent for a moment before her voice crackled over the ear piece again. "Forty-eight hours ago the city of New Harran went dark. Attempts at communication within the city have failed as well as attempts for people to reach out. Phone signals, internet, everything has gone dark. At least at first. Somehow, someone within the quarantine zone managed to regain access to the Internet and was able to post a single image of the current state of the city. Mr. Jensen I will be blunt here; it did not look good." Zack couldn't help but wonder how this anonymous source managed to find a internet connection when the rest of the city couldn't.

"You said something about a quarantine zone. Exactly what's happened within New Harran?" Zack asked, bringing one of his legs up and placing it atop his knee. "We're not sure. I'm sorry, Mr. Jensen, but you will be flying in rather blind this time. However, what we do know is that they're seems to have been some sort of...outbreak." Wait...what? Zacks eyes widened for a moment before narrowing again. "Outbreak? As in...viral? Bacterial? What do you mean? What are the vectors it spreads by? Is it airborne? Water borne? Why send me in, why not the Research Branch?" It was a multitude of questions, yes, but very warranted.

Zack was to be sent into a quarantine zone with a possibly easily spread disease? Zack needed to know everything about this and now. "Mr. Jensen...we just don't know right now. We have confirmed, though, that the pathogen is not spread through the air. But, we still provided you with a filtered gas mask just in case. Do be careful to not lose the filters. Satellite surveillance has also shown something rather disturbing in the city. It seems that all the population has taken to the streets. We have recorded massive amounts of activity in the city, but it seems nobody has tried to leave."

This was just getting better. "Avoid the citizens then, I take it, since they're most likely infected. What's my mission, exactly?" Annabeth went silent after he asked that. A bit too silent. Zack gazed at the other passenger, continuing his maintenance work in silence. It was a few more moments before Annabeth came back over the radio. "I will call back when you have arrived over the city and give you your mission. Please, sit tight." With that she hung up. The Assassin sat there, lowering his hand from the ear piece. He took a breath, closing his eyes and resuming preparing himself mentally. This...was going to be rough. How much was he going to be paid for this? Well, at least he had his shots.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}
▸Strength - [200] = [100] Points

▸Speed - [300] = [750] Points

▸Spiritual Pressure - [250] = [150] Points

▸Reiatsu Strength - [300] = [480] Points

▸Light Aura - [30] Points

▸Dark Aura - [70] Points

▸Instinct - [150] = [225] Points

▸Senses - [200] = [150] Points

▸Energy sensory - [0] Points

▸Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

• [Stealth] {3}
  
  
• [Weapons: Knives] {2}
  
  
• [Weapons: Firearms] {3}
  
  
• [Movement] {2}
  
  
• [Acting] {2}
  
  
• [Calm Mind] {2}
  
  
• [Battle Analysis] {3}
  
  

Total SKP: 17

SPOILER: Click to show

{Items}
x2 UE2 Handguns
x2 Silencers
x120 Handgun Bullets
x30 Sekki Sekki Bullets
x6 Daggers
x1 Power Ring
x1 Reiatsu Orb Vest
x2 Utility Belts
x4 Handgun Ammo Clips
x2 Pistol Clips
x3 Large Pouches
x1 Auto-Matic Lockpick
x1 Stealth Clock (Suit)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru Kuchiki found herself back in the library of the manor. She had spent so much time studying to find Asmoskon, she took at least one day out of the week to just study on different subjects. She had no idea how much information was in the library, but in part to her lost love, it actually showed her how much information her new family actually had in this library. No wonder Hokori spent all of his time in here. She could definitely see why now. She was reading a new book she found when she heard a knock at the door before it cracked open.

It was one of the many servants of the household. He told her that a messenger from her division was here, wanting her to head back for some important work. She nodded towards the servant and he shut the door. She took a deep breath, got up out of her chair and returned the book from where she got it. The one day she was giving herself a break from traveling around the world to find Asmoskon and she had work. No matter, this might turn out good for her, letting her see a new part of the world and closer to Asmoskon.

Since it was important work she was needed for, she quickly walked through the manor and once she exited, she Shunpo'ed towards her division to get there as quickly as possible. Once she arrived there, someone started to quickly run towards her. She had no idea who this person was, but she was expecting the Vice Captain to tell her about this mission if it was so important. But, she guessed he was busy doing something else, so this other person was going to tell her about it. She couldn't even tell what division this man was from. Once he ran up to her, he told her that they needed to talk in private.

She followed him and they went into the seated officers' room. She hadn't been in that room for a while now, and it hadn't changed much when she walked in. The officers greeted her and she noticed that her little section was taken down so they did have more room. The man told them all to leave and they were a little hesitant about leaving. Hotaru looked at them and nodded okay. After that, they all slowly started to leave, glaring at him and then nodding slightly to her, pretty much telling her that if she needed them, they were right outside the door.

She was grateful for their backup, but she was the Third Seat. She didn't get the rank just because of her name, and she was pretty sure she could deal with any problem that this guy might give her. He then took a deep breath and started to explain why she was needed. It seems like the Second Division had shinigami in Egypt and when they returned, they had some rather interesting information. It seems that something had happened in the country, changing the humans into something different that they had no information about.

When the Second Division shinigami tried to get closer to the humans to see what was going on, the ones that were spiritually aware immediately started to attack them. The shinigami got away, but they did notice the humans seemed faster. They had noticed them right away and attacked. Because of this fact, it was decided that someone from the Eleventh Division should go instead of the Third, due to the strength of these humans. It was interesting because Hotaru had never heard of anything like this happening either.

She nodded and said, "Very well, I'll take it." He told her that no one else from Soul Society would be going, so she was on her own. Though, as Hotaru went back to the manor to make sure she had everything, she thought about who else might be there. She had met two other humans that belonged to organizations in the Human World that took care of issues, so there was no doubt in her mind that if the issue was pretty bad, she might run into humans from those organizations. Once she made sure she had everything, she checked on Riff-Raff and then was off to the Thirteenth.

Once she arrived, they had already been briefed on her mission and the gates were already ready for her. She tighten her sash, making sure her zanpaktou was secure, before stepping through the open gates. Once the gates opened on the other side, all she really saw was brown as far as the eye could see. She stepped out of the gate and took a deep breath. Since she was a spiritual being, she didn't really feel any heat, but she could tell that it must be fairly hot. It was then that she saw the city in the distance.

She slowly started to walk up to it. She didn't want to get there to fast, in the weird chance she would actually hit something. While walking up, she noticed a lot of people standing around what looked like the outskirts of the town. She walked through the crowd, once she got there, and noticed that there were other humans keeping these out. She saw huge vehicles and something that looked like guns, which she knew about from watching television from her window watching days. So, she assumed that this was military. She had to find out what was going inside, so her plan was to just walk in. She didn't know if there was spiritually aware people in the military, so she would try to just walk through the blockade.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Abilities}
Strength - 150 (112) Points.
Speed - 350 (525) Points.
Spiritual Pressure – 400 (300) Points.
Reiatsu Strength – 350 (525) Points.
Instinct - [100] Points.
Senses - [100] Points.
Energy sensory - [50] Points
Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Weapons: Swords] 3
[Pain Tolerance] 3
[Bleeding Tolerance] 2
[Damage Recovery] 3
[Anti-Pain] 3
[Special: Hoho] 3

[Hebika Nara]

She never did expect to make it so far. After all, the tournament was something she'd just figured would be fun to try out. She had expected nothing but to maybe win a round or two before getting herself something for participation and then heading off, maybe flirt a little with one of the finalists. Winning the whole thing had been... well... unexpected. Being asked to participate in a Regional Tourney had been just as surprising, she'd even been given the name and location of a top trainer for martial artists in Egypt. A bit out of the way, but surely Shizuka had understood and known that this was something Hebiika wanted to try.


As she arrived in the airport she was mildly aware of a massive crowd huddling around an enormous television screen, though it was simply ignored as she found the man holding the sign with her name. A pleased smile and a coy little wave caused him to give a sheepish smile as he took her to the Cab that would take her into the city. IT WAS pretty nice being carted around, so different from her own wanderings that typically took up her travel. But then of course, it did not all go as planned. Apparently.

As soon as they reached the cab, the driver received a call, panic soon entering his voice as he suddenly got into his cab, shutting the door. Had she not grabbed his wrist he probably would have driven right off. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" She askd soothingly, using that charm of hers to try and relax him. But she soon noticed he was beyond the normal level of frightened, and while her voice certainly helped, he was still very anxious.

"Y-you don't understand. I...My family's.... They blocked off New Harren! Some sort of....I...I don't even know, they're calling it a disaster or something! I...I just... P-please, I'll pay you for another cab just... I need to see my family!" he whimpered. She let him go, not even asking for his money. He gave her a thankful look, until she asked him to take her with him.He didn't argue, he was simply...surprised.

Once they started to approach the blockade, she told him to pull over. Which he did not seem to understand. Until she opted to make him pull over. Her strength catching him off guard as she drove the car to the side of the road, sitting on the struggling driver before parking the vehicle and then grabbing him by the chin and pointing ahead. "I'm fairly certain we're not getting past that just any old way."He was panicked, but not stupid. The both of them got out of the car.

Of course she had a suspicion that the areas between the gates to the city were likely guarded as well. But logically, they would simply not be as..alert as those at the main gates. The man walking beside her was desperate, afraid. She could trust him to do as she said, if he thought it meant maybe seeing his family. It was not often she took pity on humans. Most times it was simply a means of manipulation. And to an extent, that's what this was. She was not so dense as to believe herself all powerful. Whatever was going on within those walls, strength came in numbers. Even if he was but a simple cab driver, he might prove useful.

Up ahead, she noticed a few other citizens had begun trying to walk through the backed up traffic towards the gate as they yelled and shouted. None of them spotted her and the cab driver as they went. Of course it was likely they would be spotted. There wasn't much cover. But if they went back into the crowd they could very well get trampled. Of course she could simply make something to bust through the barricade. Or....rather...

Her attention turned to the city walls, a slow smile working on her lips. Perhaps she could simply send one of her little ones to break through the wall. That would cause some disarray and confusiong amongst the guards. Their attention would be diverted, not to mention the crowd would start panicking. Some of them would no doubt be deployed to repair the wall. Of course she could simply bring the wall into the mix, and make it into something to...distract them. But which would have the least casualties? She frowned. She hardly wanted to kill a bunch of scared innocent people.. Decisions decisions. Her eyes began scanning the crowds, looking for someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who wasn't panicking. Someone that was calm, someone she could use...

SPOILER: Click to show

{stats}Strength - 80 Points (60 Points)

Speed - 80 Points (60 Points)

Spiritual Pressure - 120 Points

Reiatsu Strength - 10 Points

Light Aura - 95 Points

Dark Aura - 5 Points

Instinct - 170 Points (255 Points)

Senses - 60 Points (90 Points)

Energy sensory - 0 Points (0 Points)

Healing Expertise - 0 Points


•[Martial Arts: Taekwondo]: {2}

•[Pain Tolerance]: {2}

•[Calm Mind]: {2}

•[Battle Analysis]: {2}

•[Damage Recovery]: {2}

•[Anti-Stealth]: {2}

•[Acting]: {2}

•[Crafting: Life - Hebika's Ability to mold her surroundings into creatures and with fragments of her heart: Breathe life into them. This skill determines her ability to mold them to her desires, determining the level of detail she is able to put into their anatomy as well as the personality and temperament of the creatures she produces have.] {1}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Items}1x Packet of Plane Peanuts
1x Travelling bag
1x Expendable Cab Driver

[Pavel Fedoseev]

[OOC] Sorry for the wait guys.

[IC]

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play Me}

From the closest city, the drive would be several hundred miles away, giving a clear sign to Yoko that this tropical city would be relatively isolated from civilization. As the Egyptian sun glared down at the travelers, the drive took this opertunity to speak to Yoko. "You know. There has been a report that the city you are traveling to has been blocked off by the Egyptian Government. You will be very hard pressed to get passed the blockades." This would become clear the closer she got to the inevitable blockade. The driver of the transportation would stop exactly three hundred feet away from the blockade.

The blockade itself was a decently sized military instalation. On the side of both roads was a medium amount of tents of different sizesm numbering close to the hundreds, with a fence barring any normal person from getting inside. Behind the fenses were different men leaving the tents and conversing with one another as they gazed at the direction of the city. In the distance past the tents were clear sounds of helicopters taking off and landings, and in the air she would see a group of Apaches' take off followed by the landing of a squadron of Mi-17 Hips'

The road continuing downward was where she would find the blockade and a major concern. At both sides of the blockade were M1 Abram Tanks. By these tanks were twenty men dressed in typical military attires all of their faces were covered by a shemagh and their eyes covered by sunglasses. Their gaze was immediatly brought onto Yoko. After turning around and waving the attention of the tanks, one of them pointed at Yoko and the barrels of both tanks were trained towards her, as this occured another unoccupied soldier took a few steps onto the road and took a light jog towards Yoko with his hand raised high, signaling to her that they were willing to talk. However he did not get close, when they were at least fifty feet away he stopped.

The way that these soldiers were armed, they were ready to deal with the heaviest of materials. Two of them held onto an FN Mini while the rest were holding onto CZ-805 Brens. The one that was talking to Yoko held onto nothing. When the man spoke, it was clear that he was a native of Egypt but was very understandable, even with the heavy accent. "Hey! You! Woman! What are you doing around here? Didn't you get the report? The city is closed-" that was when he got a look at the uniform that she wore. "Wait. You are not dressed like some snot nosed civvy trying to see why." he turned back towards the group of tanks and shook his head. The tanks were still aimed but the group of soldiers returned back to conversing.

"Based on your looks, you don't look like the kind of person that would just be here for sight seeing." he gazed at what she carried and then at her face. "If you can handle what I am going to show you. Then I'll listen." He turned to the tanks and raised his hand and immediatly lowered it. In response the tanks lowered their barrel and he walked with her to the tanks and between them, in the distance, it appeared to be five to ten miles away was a large city. With skyscrapers towering over the other buildings hidden by distance. And even from their view, they could see towers of black smoke rising from different parts of the city. Some of the skyscrapers were on fire, and appeared to be close to collapsing any time sooner.

"We do not have an clearance to just frag the fucking place. But if we had, it would all be solved by our guys." he pointed at the diferent helicopters that were going over the city and into the horizon. "I won't give much but those guys are going to contact the airforce. At the moment we have a few jets making their rounds, making sure anyone hostile making their way here will be immediatly shot and killed. We are not taking any chance with people escaping without our permission. So good luck making it past those without clearance." when the shpeel was over he turned to Yoko and removed his glasses, his pupils fixed on hers and squinted. "Now that you know, what are you doing here?"

[OOC] Got class, will add responses to the others soon.

[Deleted]

Music – Trigun Badlands OST – Kaze Ga Yanda Toki

After yet another tiresome journey, Yoko finally arrived at the blockade outside New Harran. She really should have just gone skydiving right into the city center. As expected, she was stopped by some grunts before she could just stroll through the barricade. That was fine, it was not a hindrance to her mission. She let them make a show of force. It was good to let junior officers think they were in charge for a bit. That just meant they were thrown that much farther off guard when the truth was revealed to them. Yoko was courteous as they introduced themselves and explained their situation. She waited patiently until they were done talking, as she had no intention of wasting more time here than needed. If she interrupted them, it would likely just have led to a bunch of time-wasting shouting.

Efficiency was key here. It had already taken nearly an entire day just to reach the city, and every minute probably meant the situation was getting worse. There was one small blessing though; the soldiers spoke some English. That meant they’d understand what the Fullbringer said to them. [smear:0000ff]”I’m here to fix the problem for you.”[/smear:00ffff:1] She waited for their reaction to subside. It was probably laughter, maybe a few insults as well. The Chief walked up to one of the Abrams before talking again. [smear:0000ff]”You’re dealing with something bigger than you realize. These things won’t be effective, but at least they started including seatbelts.”[/smear:00ffff:1] That was the only warning they got before her axe kick hit the front of the tank. The force was great enough, and the spot unbalanced enough, that the tank flipped over, sailing over Yoko's head and landing behind her on what used to be its top side.

She turned to face the soldiers, who were probably dumb enough to have pointed their guns at her by now. [smear:0000ff]”Are you going to be stupid enough to try and shoot a person stronger than the best tank you can import from the US, or are you just going to shut up, take me to your Commanding Officer, and have him or her tell me everything you know about the situation?”[/smear:00ffff:1] If they were dumb enough to attack, the Chief had no moral issues with incapacitating them. She didn’t feel she had much time to waste. If it came down to it, she would just have to release and fly her way over to the city. A few measly fighter jets weren't going to stop here. Hell, they were probably only F-16s.

[Pavel Fedoseev]

[ooc] Please excuse me for the late reply. Also, Blah post is blah.

[IC]

Hebika and Hotaru would both come up to the same barricade that barred many men and women from going towards the city, from their perspective they would only see the heavily armed soldiers standing in front of the makeshift gate towards the city. They could see it from their distance, the towering plumes of smoke from what can be assumed the city. Behind the soldiers was the same thing that Yoko met with at her barricade, two Abrams tanks with their cannons pointed upwards but ready if there were any violent interactions. Over head, the two would see helicopters making their rounds, going past and over the city before disappearing into the horizon. What other information that may prove to be a hinderance to the mission, there were groups of three fighter jets making their rounds over the long streatch towards the city. If they wanted to get there as violently as possible, they will have to get past the jets that may or may not be prepared for spiritual attacks too.

From their distance they could hear what the soldiers were saying. Like the men at Yoko's checkpoint, they were dressed in typical Egyptian military attires with their face covered by shemaghs and their eyes covered by sunglasses. "Citizens! We are the Egyptian Military here to help the situation. Because of the sensitivity of what is happening, we are not able to fully disclose what is happening to the city. As of yet, it is assumed that a rogue faction, possibly from Israel are responsible for this attack. However we do not have official confirmation. We are here to ensure that they do not leave the city and that all that have been trapped in the city during this has been evacuated. I repeat, we can not allow any civilians into the city. We will reunite you with your loved ones when the problem has been fixed." unlike Yoko's barricade, this one seemed to be more "sociable" and had a larger group.

In response, there were mixed responses from the crowed, some turning around and walking back while others continued to seek their protest. The barricade had a total of twenty men armed with standard gear, as Hotaru began to walk towards the barricade, one of the soldiers spotted her and pointed in her direction. "You there! Stop!" if Hotaru verified if she was being pointed at, it would be clear that the man had singaled her out of those that were arround the blockade. "Brown woman! With the Strange Hair! Did you not hear what has been announced? We can not let anyone in." the crowd around Hotaru seemed to be confused and took steps backwards as if they were searching for who the soldiers were accusing.

"Turn around and leave. You are not welcome here. Especially your kind." the way that this man sounded, it was as if he knew what Hotaru was. And who she represented, however there was no confirmation about that fact. Just a little feeling she felt in her heart and head. These people may or may not have a disdain for Shinigami. It was up to her to confirm.

[ooc]I'll think about what to do with Zack. But as of now he's still sitting in the plane.

[Deleted]

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}I've got ya covered, Clock.

Besides the roar of the engine, the cargo hold of the Combat Talon was surprisingly silent. Zack remained seated on the bench, though now a pile of clothes and equipment had been placed beside him. He knew what it was, a flight suit along with the equipment necessary to do what it was he was about to do. But, before he entered the city he needed a goal. He needed Xcution to give him his mission. Zack placed his hands together, his eyes remaining closed as he awaited the sound of Annabeth calling him again over his ear piece. He had a feeling in his gut that they were nearing the city, knowing that if he looked out the window he would only see clouds.

Zack understood that the pilots were doing everything they could to remain undetected. The assassin was confident in their piloting abilities as well as Xcutions stealth tech. Regardless, they wouldn't be able to remain in the air for long. Time was of the essence. The sudden sound of static caused Zacks eyes to open and his hand to rise and press the button on the ear piece. "Yes?" Zack asked, eyes closing once more as he awaited Annabeths voice. "Hello again Mr. Jensen."

"I apologize for the pause, but I needed to get confirmation on some details regarding what it is you will be doing. But, before I begin I need something to be on record. If you wish to refuse this job we will pull you out right now. Other members off the Corporate Branch agree that this job might be too dangerous to risk losing you. If you cancel on this job we will give you half the total payment you would have received for completing the mission."

Zack was surprised to say the least. This was the first time he had ever been told that the job might be too dangerous even for him. With a sigh, Zack didn't take too long to decide his answer. "The concern is appreciated, but I will accept the job. There's nobody else in Xcution who would have a better chance of success than me, and I'd rather not have it on my conscious that my own hesitation and fear be the reason another operative died. Give me the mission details."

Annabeth was silent for a moment, long enough that Zack began to wonder if she was going to flat out refuse him the mission. Was it really going to be this risky? Or was she simply testing his resolve and desire for money? It only took a moment more before Annabeth began speaking again. "Your mission is to locate a Xcution Research Branch operative by the name of Manuel Ancheta. The information that is available tells us that Manuel stopped in this city a day before communications went dark." Zack was quiet as he listened, eyes opening before he opened his own mouth to ask a question, one that needed immediate answering.

"Xcution isn't involved with the outbreak...is it?

The possibility of the organization he was a part of being involved with the outbreak wasn't impossible. In fact, Zack wouldn't have been too surprised. He knew that the Research department was working on chemical, bacterial, and viral weaponry to be used against the other Spiritural Races. Though, if Zack remembered correctly, the use of any sort of biological weapon was illegal in Xcution if you didn't have the Bosses permission. Plus, if it was in fact an Xcution officer who allowed a deadly pathogen to escape due to his own negligence then he would be facing the death sentence.

"We're unsure if Xcution is involved in anyway. However, it doesn't look very good on Anchetas end. He was one of our leading virologists in the Research Branch." Annabeth continued, causing Zack to mentally sigh. It didn't look good on Anchetas side then. An outbreak of possibly the worst kind along with one of Xcutions leading virologists going missing at the same time in the same city. There was too much evidence for it to be just a coincidence. Considering the information that he was being given, Zack had an inkling of an idea what his mission was going to be. "Your objective is to locate Manuel Anchetas research station and to acquire any information he has on the outbreak. If Manuel is still alive then you're to acquire as much information from him as you can. If he is guilty of causing the outbreak you have permission to terminate him. If he's not guilty then we will extract both of you." She explained.

"Anything else?" Zack asked, standing up and beginning to grab ahold of the equipment beside him. "Yes. You have one hundred and twenty hours to complete this mission. If you fail to reach the rendezvous point by that point then we will have no choice but to leave you behind. We will contact you every five hours, other than that you need complete radio silence so the military doesn't catch onto you being in the city. Only contact us if it's an extreme emergency. We will be providing you rations, but if you run out it's your responsibility to find your own. Remember, this is both a stealth and survival mission. The Egyptian Military must not know you're in the city, Zackary."

Jensen listened as he pulled the jump suit up over his body. "I understand. And you're sure the pathogen isn't in the air?" He wanted to make sure before he entered the city. "We wouldn't be sending you if it was. We have faith in your success. Good luck, Mr. Jensen. Please, come back." And like that the call was dropped as the plane entered the radio dead zone. "ETA is ten minutes to drop off. Let's get you suited up." the other member of the cabin stated, walking over and helping Zack finish getting into the suit. He was quiet as the equipment was put on him; the large backpack placed on top of the one he already had one along with the helmet containing the oxygen he was going to need while falling. "Five minutes to drop off. De-pressurization complete, opening the rear hatch." With the flip of a switch the rear hatch of the plane began to open, filling the cabin with the sound of the engines and the wind. Zack took steps towards the edge of the cabin, his feet at the edge of the ramp as he looked out into the sky.

It was like he was on a boat, sailing atop a sea of clouds. How long had it been since he last performed a sky dive? No time to think about it, because Zack heard the words "Go go go" from behind him. So he jumped. Weightlessness overtook his body, before that familiar pit in his gut was formed as he plummeted through the sky. He couldn't see anything as he fell through the clouds, noticing the moisture that built up against his goggles. The rushing air and his own breathing were the only sounds he heard as he fell through the clouds. It brought back memories, though, of his time in the military. He had performed skydives back in the day, and only once before during his time with Xcution. It wasn't a common practice, but it was one that was necessary now.

Suddenly the sights changed. The clouds were gone, giving Zack a bird's eye view of the city below him. Before all of this it was no doubt a beautiful city. But what Zack saw below could no longer be described as such. The few skyscrappers the city had produced both flames and smoke. Towers of black smoke rose from various portions of the city. From his altitude, Zack could see the remains of the chaos in the streets. Wrecked cars, destroyed street signs, fires. It looked like a war had taken place below him. Eyes narrowed from behind the goggles as Zack scanned around, trying to locate the safest place for him to drop in.

Eyes locked onto what Zack believed to be a gas station. It had the hood along with the building, plus a sign that read in a foreign language. Reaching up he grasped a hold of the one of the cables on his shoulders, giving it a tug and thus releasing the parachute in the bag behind him. The black cloth opened up as it caught the air, immediatly slowing down Zacks descent considerably. Two hooks would allow Zack to easily tilt and turn the parachute, allowing him decent steering control as he descended into the city. He only had a few minutes before he touched down, so he made sure to maneuver himself towards the gas station.

Now that he slowed down he could get a better look at the city. It was now apparent it was much worse than what he thought. Zack could see smears of blood in the streets, more fires than he originally thought, and far more destruction. What had happened? Zack had assumed that during a viral outbreak then the inhabitants of the city would be dead in the street. So, he had to ask himself, where did the citizens go? He didn't see anyone in the streets as he dropped in. But now he needed to focus on sticking his landing. Approaching the rooftop at a rather high speed, Zack suddenly unclipped his harness and dropped a few feet onto the roof of the gas station. He slid for a few feet as a result, remaining crouched down for a few moments.

Remaining crouched was to make sure of a few things. He was listening for anything trying to approach or sounds of something noticing him. Slowly he stood up, grabbing onto the mask on his face and pulling it off. With a quick breath he took in some scents. The smell of blood reeked in the air, along with the scent of smoke. Quickly he unzipped his flight suit and tossed it aside, once again in his trademark dark colored suit. He immediatly crouched down though and opened up the travelpack he had been given. It was rather heavy, given it was currently carrying a number of things Zack was going to need.

Opening it up, Zack got to work. From within he pulled out two silver handguns. Giving them a quick inspection for damage or clogging, he promptly loaded them and flipped their safeties on. Holstering them in the holsters on his side, he began to load the spare cartridges into their own slots on the straps. Tucked away in his suit to hide them, but also in the perfect spot for quick and easy access. He made sure to store his other items in their proper places on his body, adding a small amount of weight to him. It wasn't uncomfortable nor should it damage his mobility. He raised his fingers to the earpiece in his ear and pressed the button, then waited. A small spike in static was all he needed. "I'm in. Where do I go?"

"Good to hear you've arrived safely. I recommend checking out Manuels house for any clues as to where he is or what he has been doing. The address is..." Zack listened quietly as Annabeth gave him the address, all the while pondering to himself what Xcution was going to do if this has indeed been the fault of one of their own. He knew Manuel would be executed on the spot, but Zack was wondering what would be done about the city. He assumed that there were survivors somewhere, but they were not of his concern. He needed to find the doctor and get out. "I've got it." Zack responded after Annabeth fed him the direction. "Remember. You have five days. Maintain radio silence unless neccessary. Check in every five hours with an update." Zack hit the button and ended the call.

Looking into his pack he went over his supplies once again. Six bottles of water and six MREs. It wouldn't be enough to last him the entire five days, which meant that after his food ran out Zack was going to need to find some in the city for him. First things first though, Zack needed to find a map of the city. Otherwise he would be running in circle and make little to no progress. Sliding his arms through the straps he stood up, scanning the rooftop once more and making his way to one of the edges. His mission had begun.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Current Supplies}
x6 MREs
x6 Bottles of Water

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru ended up a few feet away from the barricade, just looking around at what was going on. She looked down to her left arm and fixed the Vice Captain badge on her left arm. She looked at it proudly, knowing that she had finally earned a Vice Captain spot. It was hard won, but she knew that she deserved it. Once she was sure that it was fashioned securely on her arm, she looked back around at the crowd of humans to try to tell what was actually going on in this area. The first thing that she noticed was the large crowd around the barricade she was aiming to enter.

Next, she heard the other humans, dressed in different clothes and Hotaru assumed them to be the authority in this area, speak to the crowd at large. They called themselves the 'Egyptian military,' so she was right in her assumption that they were the authority here. They continued speaking, telling the crowd that they couldn't tell anyone what was going on in the city because of sensitivity, but she had found out that most of the times when people said that, they were hiding a huge mistake. A mistake that Soul Society wanted her to help out with.

They did say that no civilians were allowed into the city. She had to think on that word for a minute and then remembered that it was a term used for people that were not military. Well, she was in the Gotei Thirteen, which was the military for Soul Society, so she technically wasn't a civilian. She then actually looked around at all the weird machinery in the area. She had not seen any military machines since joining the Gotei Thirteen. The machines that she were used to were pretty much glorified firework canons that they used to shoot off at their enemies.

Most of the fighting she had to do was sword to sword, sometimes on horseback. Now, it seemed that humans had started to build huge machines out of metal. The two huge vehicles that she saw in front of her she had no idea what they were, but she was pretty sure that they could cause some damage. She then looked up into the sky and saw the flying things in the air. She was amazed. She had never seen any of those flying contraptions before. She immediately wondered if those things regularly fell out of the sky.

But, if people were actually riding around in them and driving them, they must be fairly trustworthy. She honestly wouldn't trust them. If they were meant to fly, they would've been given wings at birth to fly. But, now that she had the power to look like she was flying, she couldn't really say anything against it. She then started to walk towards the barricade, meaning to just walk through. It was then that one of the soldiers seemed to be looking at her. The soldier then shouted at someone to stop. Hotaru kept walking, assuming that the soldier couldn't see her.

Then, he pointed at her and said brown woman with strange hair. She looked around the ground and all of the other women had their head's covered. So, it made it painfully obvious that the soldier was talking to her. The crowd started to leave an empty hole, and she could tell that the people had no idea what this soldier was talking about, looking around trying to figure out who he was talking about. He told her that they couldn't let anyone in. But, Hotaru wasn't just anyone. She was a Vice Captain and she wasn't going to let the human keep her out.

She walked a little bit more towards the barricade, getting out of the crowd and that's when the soldier told her to turn around and leave, that they didn't want 'her kind' here. She looked a little dumbfounded. She had never talked to human that spoke this openly about shinigami. It was as if he had actually met with shinigami before. It was possible, but she knew that shinigami out on patrol are supposed to avoid humans, only focus on hollows. But, she knew that patrols did run into spiritually aware humans from time to time.

Though, from the way that this person was talking, he had a bad run in with shinigami. It made her curious how the encounter went and what actually happened to make this man sour to her kind. Even though he didn't want 'her kind' here, she was going to stay here. She was given a mission from Soul Society and she wasn't going to back down. "I'm not going to leave because you don't want 'my kind' here. I was given a direct order and I'm not the type of soldier to disobey a direct order. I would hope that you aren't either. So, please let me enter. I will not cause harm to the people inside if I don't have to, you have my word and honor as a samurai. I want to do this the easy way, not the hard way. Please."

[Hebika Nara]

Hebika was intrigued to find that the blockade was so extensive, and that they were so...inclusive. Rather she had, with her little escort, come to be a bit closer than usual, even so much as to witness the rather calm and reasonable speech from the guards, even as, in the midst of this, they did so halt a shinigami, of all beings, fro entering as well? As if a single shinigami task force for something like this was not strange enough, the fact that they seemed to be halted by these humans? 

She would have remained silent, watching carefully, stealthily, with no real intense regard for these humans and their querreling with the hated species that she so despised. But...alas, mayt end up seeking aid from. She had no idea how bad things were in there after all.... She would rather try to keep things as afe for herself as she possibly could. and so, begrudgingly, she felt that it be...prudent. That she assist the shinigami. Sure it would benefit her as well admittedly. It seemed nobody here was fond of the shinigami, a fact that might be exploitable. Immediately she let out her spiritual pressure. 

Although it could not be felt by most of the humans, no doubt that they would feel it's effects regardless, that aura of hers spilling from every pore of her being, that warm, lulling, comforting air about her that so easily allowed her to entice the hearts of humans and even some spirits with this. Her voice a warm, motherly peal that rang out, even amongst all of the hubub as she made her way forward, slowly shaking her head, as if deeply distressed. "Our kind? Dear dear and in such a time as this. Really you should apologize." She noted, speaking as though the gatement had been talking to her as opposed to the shinigami, to quell the humans unaware that a shinigami stood before them.

"And to spot me so far away too? How cruel indeed, that foreigners are not so welcome here after all." She noted, walking past Hotaru as though she did not see her, those tattooed arms visible as she stepped foreward, stopping just infront of where Hotaru was, which was, a round about spot where someone would stop went hey didn't want to get shot. "Now now, I can understand that you would not want us to get inside, Truly I do. You have orders. And whatever is in there is clearly dangerous, deadly even." She noted softly, slowly shaking her head, memories of atrocities she had encountered before, making her face harden slightly as her voice went from smooth and warm to a more firm, commanding tone.

"But, even though we are but civillians, you question our resolve." She noted, stepping foreward until well....it was liekly she would be shot, but if not, she would move foreward until one of those guns was pointed right at her head, staring calmly ahead as she did so. Well...or...if she'd been shot, she would stumble, and clutch her wound. Of course there was no danger of anythnig fatal. Her body was fake, artificial, she could control it no matter what was done to it. But she could act. Regardless of her state, she woudl resume, either calmly, or grunting, around the agony of a bulet wound, but the setenness in her voice would be no less prominent. 


"We would not be here if there was not something important to us within those walls. Family. Friends. Things we cannot live without. Things that even 'our kind' hold important. As such, you must know that no matter what you say, we will not stop and leave simply because you come at us with weapons or harsh words. Some of us are here because what lies beyond those walls is something so important that we could gladly die trying to get to it, if only for the hope of saving it. So please, do not insult our resolve."

Of course it would not work. Well...if it did, she was an insanely better negociator than she would have thought. Though what she more or less EXPECTED, or figured would happen, would be that they would strike her, beat her down, or better yet?  Shoot her. THAT would cause something oh so lovely. A Riot. Even if they interrupted her mid speech, she could swell the masses, even if it was not enough to move a soldier, she had a comanding and warming aura, and the crowd would have been with her in heart. To have her slain as such would no doubt incite an incredible hubub. And with that, she would easily be able to take her cabby, after a little pretending to be dead act, and sneaking her hot little ass into the city. And probably the shinigami would take a similar opportunity.

So alas, she was not going to be stopped. IT did not matter. IF they let her in? Fine. That would be dandy. If they did not? She would rile up the crowd, and start her riot. If they shot her? Beat her? That would change nothing. She had won. No matter what. Humans were so easy to toy with. And, if all of that failed, it would be so...so....sooo easy, to bring a single soldier's gun to life, and have it fire upon the backs of his comrades. It would be very unfortunate. But for the greater good: sacrifices and all that. She woudl make sure it was nonfatal, a bullet wound was a small price to pay for what she needed to do after all. But if it was necessary, she would even bring one of those tanks to life to have it 'misfire'. Either way, she was GOING to get into this city.

[Pavel Fedoseev]

[ooc] Now that everyone is "in order" I can reply to everyone.

[IC]


[smear:0000ff]”Are you going to be stupid enough to try and shoot a person stronger than the best tank you can import from the US, or are you just going to shut up, take me to your Commanding Officer, and have him or her tell me everything you know about the situation?”[/smear:00ffff:1] With that, the man that Yoko was with hunched forward, the tank that she had sent over her head was a bit mangled and the driver was able to also lift the tank, making his way out of the tank. If he was able to lift it, then it would be clear that these weren't your average soldier. The man that had hunched over began to chuckle before it became a full blown laughter of amusement. Genuine amusement over what he and his team had observed. "Good one! Good one!" he pointed at the tank and laughed even harder. "I wish more of my men was able to do that." The soldiers around her were surprised but they too became relaxed and chuckled with the man they were with. He eventually calmed down and placed the glasses back onto his eyes and extended his hand. "It is good to see that we can at least put someone in the shithole and fix things before we get the clarification to do so."

When they shook hands, or if Yoko grabbed onto his hand he would continue "But Where are my manners. My name is Amam. Officially we are a band of mercs that do whatever but for this job we decided to go as Egyptian Military. Just this small unit you see here. The reset are legit military guys as far as I know. We have some neat hackers that can get us credidentials and the right codes to get whatever. But even then if we wanted to go in there we need credidentials given, not earn and only one person gives them out. So were stuck here turning assholes around." He looked at the toppled tank and back at Yoko. "But we can give you a lift through the No Mans land simple and free. Can't do anything more." with those Amam placed his hand underneath the shemagh and wisteled towards the tents which began to flutter with the growing winds. From behind the tents another helicopter rose from the ground and made it way towards them.

When it landed, Amam walked towards the pilot, and pointed at Yoko, then at the tank and then towards the city, speaking directly towards the pilot. When he was done, he walked towards Yoko and shook her hand once more. "I want you to do me a favor." He pointed at the upside down tank and handed her a black spray can. "Can you please write 'A Girl Could Do this. Why can't you?' It would be great and afterwards you are free to board the helicoptor and you will be taken directly towards the city. Dropped, unfortunately, but we will make sure you are on a relatively safe building. Okay? Maybe when we can send in the clean up crew we will meet again. Good Luck! Pillage what You can! Destroy What you Can't!" he yelled as he walked towards the camps and disappeared behind the flaps.

---

As Zack landed onto the roof top, it would become clear that his sky diving downwards was noticed by a group of people he would rather not make associations with. In the sky, there were a series of red flares bursting into the air. This would let Zack know that he was discovered by some group within the city and that they may be on their way there. On top of the Gas Station, Zack could see different roads leading to the vast parts of the city. The large buildings surrounding him continued to spew smoke into the sky, from this it would appear that Zack had landed in the middle of a buisness district. On the ground there were groups of wandering people, men and women with blood dripping from their mouths. At that moment they were docile, they only shuffled across the ground and baked underneath the Egyptian sun. A map could be anywhere, it was not known for sure where he could find one. It was up to him to decide where to start looking, and it would be best that he started as soon as possible, as the sound of engines roared in the almost silent city.

---

As soon as Hebika's shpeel was over, the crowds began to amass behind her, as if she was a messiah of some sort of religion. Their pleas quickly turned into shouts and demands as they began to march towards the barricade, behind Hebika it would seem as if a crowd of over fifty, to nearly a hundred was amassed from her speach alone. However the soldiers would not budge, many of them readied their weapons towards the mass. "Return immediatly!" however the cowed will not disperse. The closer they got, the more the soldiers backed up, by the time they were uncomfortabely close to the boarder, one of the soldiers immediatly opened fire on the crowed. With that it was a riot, it was a war. There were people who pelted heavy rocks at the soldiers, some of the surrounding folk that were normally passive began to side with those that wanted to break through, it became clear that both sides were in hysteria.

It was then that the main man that was calling the shots turned his back on the barricade and began to walk towards and raised two fingers and created a rotating circle. With that the two tanks would aim their barrels towards the group of men and women, from the speakers inside the tank they were ordered to disperse. Had Hebika and Hotaru not used this oppertunity to slip pass they would have to find another way to get passed the barricade and into the city. But the riot and the confusion should have allowed them to slip, if they allowed themselves to.

[ooc] For skipping the first quest, Zack gets 0 QP and 0 CTP for the first part. Also blah post is blah, sorry.

[Deleted]

Deserty Background Music – Trigun OST – Never Could Have Been Worse

Well, she had been going for intimidation, but this worked. Normally, the Chief wasn’t fond of people laughing after she tried to show off, but this guy was clearly laughing with her, not at her. It was clear right away that she wasn’t in any kind of danger. If anything, there was a bit of camaraderie flowing back and forth. Before she settled down at Uzaki Enterprises, Yoko had been a freelancer for a bit, and had done a stint in the military for a couple years as well. These were her kind of people. They were strong, sane, and fearless. If push came to shove, she knew these were the kind of men she could count on.

Originally, the plan had been not to disclose her identity to anyone. Uzaki Enterprises was still a fledgling force in the world, but sometimes you just felt that connection. In all likelihood, these guys were too free of spirits to actually work directly for one organization on a permanent basis, but they’d be a valuable outside force that the Chief could call upon if the situation required it. Of course she still needed to convince them that she was worth working with, but shouldn’t be too hard. They didn’t exactly seem picky about whose signature was on the checks as long as they didn’t bounce.

Once Amam finally let her get a word in edgewise, the Chief was quick to respond. [smear:0000ff]”Sounds like an easy deal to me. You want it on this guy over here right?”[/smear:00ffff:1] She pointed to one of the random guys in the merc crew, rather than the tank. It was part flirt, part joke, but 100% soldier of fortune humor. In case it wasn’t obvious enough she was messing around, the Chief actually cracked a genuine smile. Given the tone of voice she’d had a minute ago, it was clear she thought they were on good terms from that alone. Jokes aside, she did the favor asked of her, plus a little extra. Right under the first tagline, she had added:

Call 07021586535 for a good time.

Men like them would understand. The message held a number of meanings. First, no, she was not interested in banging them right now, and no, they shouldn’t call her out on being a girl again if they knew what was good for them. Second, she considered their role in this boring. Implying that they needed a good time made it clear that she felt bad she had to leave them behind to go deal with this herself. Last, but far from least, that was her actual number, and she was offering work. Mercs were always looking for a better deal, and she was offering one. Better pay than whatever they were getting here, and more action. All of that was waiting for them whenever they gave her a call. Whether or not they ever would remained to be seen, but the Chief had a feeling she’d see these guys again before too long.

With politics out of the way, Yoko tossed the can of spray paint off into the distance and boarded the chopper. They were only about a dozen klicks out from the city. With the speed of an Mi-8 Hip, admirable little workhorse that it was, that was just under three minutes out. Sure she could’ve jogged all that way, but the helicopter was faster than she was, and way less effort. Besides, it wouldn’t be nice to turn down an offer of help now would it? The flight itself was uneventful. Skilled pilots tended to take the fun out of everything, but for an op like this, boring was a good thing.

By the time they were halfway there, Yoko’s eyes were sharp enough to make out a good bit of detail about the city. It was in rough shape, but that much wasn’t surprising. She made mental notes about any prominent landmarks she could see, just to get a general feel for the place. Of course, three minutes wasn’t long enough to take in all the details, but she had already downloaded both a satmap and a normal street map on her phone; the visuals were just an added bonus. There was one thing her eyes caught that the maps didn’t show though. A flare. It was off in the distance a bit, but that didn’t matter much when you had a helicopter.

Once the chopper made it over to where the flare was at, Yoko prepared to head in. Her rucksack was in place on her back, and it was anchored in enough to survive what she did next. Flares almost always meant trouble, but that was what she wanted right now. They were a good forty stories up or so, over a roof that the mercs had deemed safe enough. The Chief didn’t care for that roof. She opened the door on the other side and jumped right out, no parachute or anything. On her way out, she made a “call me” sign with her right hand and winked back up at the mercs. That done, it was time for business.

Her descent only lasted a matter of seconds, but it was plenty of time for her execute a single flip. At a speed far faster than a normal human would ever want to be falling, she hit the ground hard. Yoko wasn’t a normal human though. The ground was hurt, and she was perfectly fine. From the impact, the Chief left a noteworthy crater, and she had undoubtedly attracted the attention of everyone and everything for a mile around. To most, she probably seemed insane, but what faster way to gather information was there than to find out who around here was crazy enough to investigate something like that, and then ask them a few questions? It wasn’t a bulletproof plan, but it was probably faster than old-fashioned detective work.

[Deleted]

Crouched down at the edge of the roof, Zack was quiet as he observed the situation on the streets. Dark gray eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the first inhabitants of the city for the first time, analyzing them. Watching them. Studying them. His eyes narrowed as he examined their bodies, noting not only the fact that their clothing was caked in blood but also the varying degree of injury on their bodies. A few of the ones he saw seemed to be just completely torn apart. Their faces lacked any sort of expression, bloodied mouths held agape as they shuffled amongst themselves. Zack wasn't an idiot. He knew exactly what they looked like to him. But, he refused to acknowledge it. It was impossible.

They were infected. They were sick with the pathogen that annihilated this city. They were nothing more than walking bags of disease. Nothing more and nothing less. They were, without a doubt, dangerous. Zack was going to need to avoid them at all costs. If the pathogen was not spread through the air, Zack had every reason to believe direct contact with those creatures could very well put him at risk for infection. Regardless, he needed to find a map of the city. The best thing to do would be to begin searching the nearby stores, including the one that he had just landed on. Once he located a map he could find the location of Manuel's home. The best way to begin investigating the area would be by sticking to the rooftops.

Staying out of the street as much as possible was a good plan, as it would limit his interaction with the infected. Scanning the nearby buildings, Zack spotted a rooftop to a six story motel that looked like a good place to launch to. Sending reiatsu to his legs he planned to perform a step technique to get over there quickly. The reiatsu was sent but when he tried to perform the technique nothing happened. Confused, Zack looked at his legs wondering if something was attached to them. No, nothing. Attempting another step technique yielded the same results. This was going to be a problem. How come Step Techniques weren't working? There was no way that he had simply forgotten how to use them, given his frequent use of steps.

Zack wasn't given much time to ponder it though, as the sight of a rising flare caught his eye followed by the sound of engines in the distance. Judging from the sound, Zack had a feeling they were coming right for him. Someone in the city must have seen his descent, which meant that there were still survivors somewhere. Narrowing his eyes Zack prepared to move when he suddenly heard a new sound, one that he recognized immediately. Looking up he noticed the helicopter passing overhead. There was a lot of activity in this area. Was the chopper here because it had seen him? No, it was passing. Too high up to deploy troops safely. At least, that's what Zack had originally thought. He watched as suddenly someone leapt from the copter and into the city, vanishing behind some buildings before he heard the impact. But, rather than the sound of a squish he heard the sound of shattering concrete.

That can't be good.. Right now he had two options. Leave it or check it out. No normal human should have been able to produce a sound like the one he had just heard, which meant that the helicopter had just dropped something in that wasn't normal. It would be best to check it out, and if it was a threat then either eliminating or disabling it now would be best in the long run. Looking over the edge, Zack checked the spot he planned to land to make sure he wouldn't be landing on something or anything. Leaping over the edge and hitting the ground, he rolled once to neutralize the force of his impact. But as soon as he landed her heard something smack itself intosomething behind him, quickly turning and leaping back. His eyes locked onto the face of an infected individual behind the window inside the gas station.

It pawed at the glass, opening and closing its mouth like a fish trying to breath. Dead, white eyes looked back at the Fullbringer as it tried to reach through the glass to get him. Zack noticed the wound on its face, the entirety of its left cheek was gone allowing Zack a full view of the inside of its jaw. Blood smeared on the glass as it gnawed, trying to get to the Fullbringer but not understanding the concept of a wall. Turning his back to it he looked around. It seemed none of the other infected in the street had noticed him yet. Zack quickly moved from one end of the street to the next, using the side of an entryway staircase as cover. The sounds of engines were still present, and they were getting closer. Checking around the corner of the building and confirming it was clear, the Fullbring made his way into the alley between two structures.

Pressing his back to the wall to his left he peered around the corner. He had guessed this was where whoever, or whatever, had dropped in. Reaching into his suit he pulled out one of his handguns, just as a precaution. It would be better, anyways, if he had his weapon out. Reiatsu remained suppressed as always. But when Zack saw who it was in that crater, his eyes suddenly widened. ...no... Brief flashes of memories came back to him. Of a night that had happened long ago. He remembered the job, the three men he had killed that night. He remembered being found, interrupted by a single female Fullbringer. He remembered how their fight ended, how she walked away from that building missing one of her arms. What was she doing here? This was bad. He knew he shouldn't have come. Tapping his finger lightly against the Power Ring, Zack suddenly realized how she was able to survive that jump. If she knew that he was watching her, knew that he was here, and found him...it would be trouble. This job wasn't going to be easy, was it?

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC} Post is blah, sorry

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was standing there, talking to the man that was addressing her. It was then that she felt a presence walk up to her and that's when she saw the woman stand in front of her. Hotaru slightly cocked her head to the side, wondering why in the world this woman decided to stand right there where she was. It was then that she figured out that this must be the presence she felt walking towards her. It was curious to see this woman talk to the man as if he was addressing the crowd as a whole and not her. Though, based off what she's done, she couldn't be for sure if the woman could see her.

The woman then talked to the soldier fairly passionately. Hotaru was honestly barely listening, preferring to watch what was going on around her. The woman continued to speak towards the soldiers, walking towards them now. She looked near her and saw that the rest of the crowd was starting to raise their voices in agreement. Hotaru was surprised that one person could do something like this to an entire crowd. Though, it could even be said that a shogun could do this in her times, so thinking on that, she wasn't as surprised as she thought.

But, the more that the woman talked, the more that the crowd was roused into action. They started to agree, and move towards the barricades. Hotaru moved with the crowd, staying near the forefront to make it easier for her to maybe sneak into the area. By the time the woman was done talking, the crowd was starting to press the luck of the soldiers. They kept moving forward and the soldiers started to retreat slowly, not wanting to hurt anyone in the crowd. The soldiers kept telling them to go back, but they refused to listen.

Once the crowd seemed to get to close for comfort, she kept her eyes on the military. She was trying to judge how they were going to react to the crowd so she would be able to avoid it. She saw the soldiers start to move towards their weapons and knew that they were going to make a move on the crowd. She then ducked right before they started to open fire into the crowd. She was pretty sure that the bullets wouldn't effect her, but she would rather be safe than sorry when it came to something like that.

When that happened, the entire crowd broke out into charging the soldiers. A full blown riot had started to break out. Thankfully, she was able to avoid most of the crazy attacks being thrown by the crowd, most of them obviously having no idea how to fight. While she saw the opening in the barricade, she watched what was unfolding. The two huge metal contraptions in front of her started to move and she looked at them wide eyed. They moved around and the big long things attached to them were now pointed at the crowd while they were being told to disperse.

Seeing the huge metal thing actually move a part of itself, it made Hotaru curious. She really wanted to just start asking questions about them. How far did that top part move? Was it only as far as a regular neck, or could it move a complete 360 degrees like an owl's? How fast did it move? How was all this metal put on the thing? How was it even made? All these questions quickly ran through her head while she made her way to the opening. She felt bad for what was happening, but her mission was more important. She made her way through the crowd and past the barricade, making it into the interior of the area.

She used all her speed to run through the opening, avoiding as many people as she could as she made it through. She only stopped after turning the closest corner to her. She then stopped and looked back towards the barricade. It was still very chaotic, but thankfully she had been able to get through with little trouble. She took a few breaths and then looked around. As far as she could see now, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She had lost that strange woman in the crowd, but now, she jumped up to the rooftops and started to run towards the center of town, where she assumed that's where all the action was.